Nearly four years ago when I began this tumblelog I posted this quote by Columbia Professor of Music Aaron Brown, “Country music is born when the country becomes a nostalgic idea,” and it stuck with me. Partly because I have a deep appreciation for the simple songwriting of country music. Partly because when I post things it’s for my own reflection.
I’ve been recalling the quote more as of late as I notice the woods and forestry-related knick-knackery increasingly represented in today’s popular music and culture. It strikes me that the forest is now a nostalgic idea.
Just as country music fans, salt of the earth types, held on to their music and cherished their way of life while big cities teemed with big ideas, so now do young urbanites ensconced in concrete gravitate to the idea of the forest, while lusting after cabin gallery blogs, and desperately feeling the need to own a hatchet.